Northern Pass Files Response to Forest Society Lawsuit

Northern Pass is strongly defending its right to use a public right of way for portions of the clean energy project that will be placed underground.

In a filing today with the N.H. Superior Court (Coös County), Northern Pass noted that longstanding New Hampshire law “…expressly authorizes the installation of underground conduits and cables in public highways…”

The filing is a response to a lawsuit by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF), which claims that it controls the land under a section of the public state-maintained highway, Route 3, where Northern Pass proposes to bury a portion of the project. Despite repeatedly calling on Northern Pass to bury the transmission line, SPNHF is employing this lawsuit in an attempt to keep the project from being buried within a public right of way.

The project notes that “…SPNHF’s permission is not required, as the New Hampshire Department of Transportation is the sole authority for granting permission to install the utilities at issue within the public right of way…”

Northern Pass is asking the court to expedite its consideration of the issue. A copy of the court filing is available here.